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Okay, long did I think that when I finally got a sterling silver Zippo lighter, it would be my “ultimate” Zippo and would be my instant favorite.
I’ve had Zippos since 1988 when I bought my first one, a Black Matte.
I have maybe ten or so now. I know it’s not a huge collection by any means, especially not over nearly 20 years. Most of mine, with a few exceptions, are “users,” anyway — retaining none of their potential collector value.
So when I finally decided to get the sterling silver lighter, by the time I got around to it, they had come out with the ARMOR line. 1.5x the outer case thickness.
Well, my sterling silver Armor (model 26) lighter arrived, and much to my dismay, it did NOT become my instant favorite because its case was mismanufactured. There is a crookedness to its lines. Looking at the face of the lighter, draw parallel lines up the sides of the bottom of the case, and the side lines of the lid should follow those lines, but instead, they go off at an angle of a degree or two. It’s noticeable. It actually looks like the lid is not symmetrical.
The lighter closes fine, works fine, etc. But since it seems to me like a “second,” I am not really fond of it. I even sent it back to Zippo (insured, at a personal expense of something like $14!). It came back with a note saying that the service/repair technicians had looked at it, decided that it seems like the case had been cut wrong during manufacture. They “did the best they could to straighten it,” but there is no difference as far as I can tell. I got it back a couple of weeks after I mailed it.
Anyway . . .
I got a new favorite just a week ago.
I ordered from Zippo’s website (paying full retail, yeah, so I could get it from the source) a model 169, Armor High Polish Brass (no “Solid Brass” engraving).
I LOVE THIS LIGHTER!
The fit and finish on the armor brass lighter is outstanding! I normally don’t like metallic things in a “gold” color, much preferring the mirror look of silver or chrome, but I have made an exception in this case. Even the insert with the lighter mechanism appears to be brass! (It has the same gold color, whereas every other Zippo I’ve had has a steel-looking insert.)
I HAVE TO STRONGLY RECOMMEND TO ANY ZIPPO AFFICIONADOS THAT YOU GET YOURSELF THE MODEL 169.
I compared the Armor model to my other non-Armor ones, and it makes them feel wimpy and cheap! (And they’re genuine Zippos!)
Go Zippo!
-Jeffrey
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